#FUBAR3.WAD

I initially had very high hopes for this wad, but they were to be dashed, as will be apparent later in this review.

The author, one Scot Ranney, produced a series of FUBAR Doom 2 wads in the mid 1990s. FUBAR 1 was interesting, but far too easy on account of the superabundance of health and ammo. FUBAR 2 was commendably challenging, but let down by obscure progression and bugginess.

FUBAR 3 looked like the real deal on the strength of its first two maps which are tough, atmospheric and imaginative (not to mention a bit weird - check out the way the end of the first map is linked to the opening of the second...). Map 3 starts off with the player facing up to a Spider Mastermind and a group of Arachnotrons, but it's a lot easier than it ought to have been, and really a bit of lazy design. That's followed by a complex switch puzzle which will please some, but leave others concerned for their slowly diminishing sanity. Map 4 has fairly difficult combat situations, but the sense of progression is lacklustre and some areas don't make much sense. The highlight is the exit room, for which you will need plenty of plasma, health and armour, not to mention a bit of luck.

But level 5, WTF?!! There may be some obvious or not so obvious solution which I missed completely, but really it seemed here that Ranney had decided to sign off by devaluing his own wad and disrespecting those who had taken the trouble to play it. You'll have to try it yourself to see what I mean by this, all I'll say is that this wad could and should have been a jewel amongst its contemporaries, if its author had taken the trouble to make it so....

5 stars each for the first two levels, three for the next two, zero for the last one.

EDIT (Oct 2021): My review of this was rather harsh. Just replayed it (UV continuous) and it's pretty damn good all round, meriting at least 4/5 overall. The final map does seem to be some sort of joke by the author though. The wad appears to be designed for continuous play, by the way - just try doing map 4 from a pistol start!